Quantitative measurement of permeabilization of living cells by terahertz attenuated total reflection.

Using Attenuated Total Reflection imaging technique in the terahertz domain, we demonstrate noninvasive, non-staining real time measurements of cytoplasm leakage during permeabilization of epithelial cells by saponin. The terahertz signal is mostly sensitive to the intracellular protein concentration in the cells, in a very good agreement with standard bicinchoninic acid protein measurements. It opens the way to in situ real time dynamics of protein content and permeabilization in live cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]